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Summary of article:
A federal judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit demanding Harvard turn over its admissions records because of procedural flaws, but did not rule on whether Harvard violated the law. Related investigations and disputes are likely to continue.
A federal judge on the 2nd dismissed a lawsuit filed by President Trump’s administration. The purpose of this case is to forceHarvard University Turn over the records so the federal government can investigate whether schools still consider race in their student admissions process.
Federal District Judge Myong J. in Boston. Jaun dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit. Harvard University believes the lawsuit is part of a larger campaign launched by the Trump administration against the Ivy League school.
The judge emphasized that his decision was based on narrow procedural grounds and did not address the question of whether the Justice Department and the Education Department ultimately had access to information on thousands of high school students who applied to Harvard.
depend ondemocratic party chairmanbiden Judge Jeon Ming-jin, who was appointed, agreed with Harvard University’s view that the Justice Department did not take all the necessary steps required by law when filing the lawsuit to ensure that Harvard University voluntarily cooperated with the applicant’s request to obtain information.
“For example, the complaint does not allege that the Department of Justice told Harvard what action it would take if Harvard failed to comply, nor does the complaint specifically identify any violations at Harvard,” Kwan wrote.
Neither the Justice Department nor Harvard University immediately responded to requests for comment.
Harvard University has been a major target of the Trump administration’s use of federal money and government power to implement reforms. Trump said universities were dominated by “radical leftist” ideology.
The Cambridge, Mass., university had previously won rulings from other judges who rejected U.S. government efforts to eliminate more than $2 billion in funding, bar the school from recruiting international students and sue the school for failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment.
In February 2026, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Harvard, stating that Harvard University failed to cooperate with an investigation into whether the school had complied with a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The ruling prevents Harvard from adopting race-conscious admissions programs aimed at increasing enrollment of minority students.
When the judge dismissed the lawsuit on the 2nd, he emphasized that he did not rule on whether Harvard University engaged in discrimination or whether it was ultimately required to provide information to relevant institutions. He said similar lawsuits could be filed again if the Justice Department takes further administrative action.
Summary FAQ
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The judge believed that the Justice Department failed to complete the necessary procedures required by law before filing the lawsuit, including clearly informing Harvard what action it would take if it failed to cooperate, and it also failed to specifically indicate the facts of the violation. Therefore, the suit was dismissed on procedural grounds.
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The Justice Department hopes to force Harvard to hand over relevant records of student applicants to investigate whether the school still considers race in the admissions process and whether it violates the 2023 Supreme Court decision.
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No. The judge made it clear that this time he was dealing only with procedural issues and not making any substantive ruling on whether Harvard had discriminated or whether it would have to provide information in the future. Even if the government completes the process, it can still file a similar suit.
